Power-loom



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES GREENHALGH, JR., OF VATERFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

POWER-LOOM.

Specification of Letters Patent No.

To all wimmt may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES GREENHALGH, J r., of lVaterford, in the county of lorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Harness-Motion of Power-Looms for lVeaving Plain and Figured Fabrics; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this description, in which- Figure l, is a front elevation of a loom frame, with harness-motion constructed according to my improvements; Fig. 2, is a right side elevation of the same. Fig. 3, is a plan of the same. Fig. 4 is a front view of a single leaf of the harness. Fig. 5, shows a front view of one of the jacks, and a section of the pattern cylinder. Fig. 6, is a top view of the ends of the levers, and the knife by which the jacks are operated.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

The first part of this invention relates to the jacks by which the harness is operated, and is intended to cause both ends of the harness to rise and fall together, and thus at all times to be parallel with the race beam. It consists in suspending each leaf of the harness from two jacks of similar form and length, having their fulcra at equal distances from the center of the loom, and being furnished with toothed sectors. by which they are geared together. The points of suspension of the harness, and the pitch line of the sectors, being at equal distances from the fulcra, mustinfallibly cause the motion given to one jack to be transmitted to the other, and thus cause each end of the harness to have a similar motion.

The second part of my invention relates to the mechanism by which the jacks are operated. The mechanism which I employ for this purpose consists of two levers, which receive a vibratory motion, and carry a knife, upon which, hooks attached to the jacks are made to catch in proper succession by a studded pattern cylinder or chain. A combination of mechanism of this kind now in use; but its present construction, with a fixed knife, involves a loss of time between the closing of every shed and the opening of the succeeding one, as the pat- 10,205, dated November 8, 1858.

tern-cylinder or chain cannot be operated to throw any of the hooks not on the knife, into a position to be caught by the knife, until the shed is closed, on account of its being impossible for the knife to pass the hooks, in closing the shed, while they are in such position. This part of my invention consists in allowing the knife a sufficient amount of motion on the levers to enable it, while the shed is closing, to pass the hooks, after they are thrown into position to be caught for the next opening; and, in applying springs to it, in such a way as to throw it under the hooks after passing them; by which means, I am enabled to change the pattern, that is to say, to move the pattern-cylinder or chain, to bring new hooks into position for raising their jacks to open one shed, before the preceding shed is closed, and thus to effect a saving of the time usually lost.

The third part of my invention relates to the manner of suspending the harness from the jacks, so that either leaf can be easily and quickly taken out and replaced. It consists in attaching each of the top rails to its jacks, by two sheet metal straps, which are attached one to each jack, by a pivot, and are each furnished at their lower ends with a pin which engages in a slot or notch in the end of the heddles. By moving one link sidewise, far enough to withdraw the pin from the notch, the lea fof heddles can be taken out with the greatest facility. This is a more simple way of hanging the harness than any now in common use.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A, is the framing of the loom.

B, is the crank shaft.

C, C, C, C, are the jacks, hung on fulcra, a, a', at equal distances from the center of the loom, on opposite sides; each one, C, being geared to its fellow, C, by toothed sectors, s, s, so that the motion of one is imperatively similar to that of the other.

D, D, are the hooks which are so formed, (see Fig. 5) that their weight is nearly all outside the point of suspension, Z).

E, is the pattern-cylinder, which may have the pattern represented by studs, as shown, or by an endless chain.

F, F, are the levers, which operate the jacks; their fulcra being at, a. The knife, G, is not materially different in form from the common knife in use; at each end, it has a hole which lits easily to one of the ends of the levers, F, F', which are turned to allow the knife to slide thereon. Between the back of the knife and the shoulders at the back of the turned parts, c, C, of the levers, spiral springs, (Z, (Z, are coiled around the levers, which force the knife out against stop collars on the ends of the levers, and thus keep the knife in position for operation. The levers, F, F, receive a vibrating motion, which is produced by a crank, e, on the end of the shaft, B, which, through a connecting rod, f, gives a vibrating` motion to a lever, g, whose fulcrum is a shaft, 71., which works in suitable bearings in the frame. The lever, g, is at the back end of the shaft, 7i, and is connected with the back lever, F, by a rod, z', through which it transmits its motion, At the front end of the shaft, 71., there is an arm, j, which is shorter than the arm of the lever, g, to which the back lever, F, is connected; and this arm, j, is connected by a rod, 7s, with the front lever, F, at about the same distance from the fulcrum, d', as the lever, g, is connected with the back lever, F. It is obvious that, by properly proportioning the arms, g, and, j, such a motion may be given to the levers, J, J, as to make them give each leaf of the harness a motion proportionate to its distance from the fell point of the cloth.

The knife, G, only regulates the rising or upper part of the shed; but there is a knife or bar, H, at the opposite end of the levers, F, F, upon which the falling jacks rest, and by which their fall-is regulated. lf the distances between this knife, H, the fulcrum, a, and the knife, G, be properly proportioned, a motion may be given to the falling or lower part of the harness, similar to that given to the upper, and the rising and falling parts of the shed will bothbe kept parallel.

The pattern-cylinder is moved, to change the pattern, by a click rod, Z, which is attached to the lever arm, j, and acts upon a series of pins in the face of a disk, m, fast on the same axis as the cylinder; the position of the cylinder being retained by a pawl, n.

The heddle frames, I, I, are made of sheet or light hoop iron;,the top and. bottom rails being made of single pieces, and the sides being double, receiving the rails between their two pieces. The top rails, 0, 0, extend some distance, beyond the side pieces, and have a slot or notch, p, (see Fig. 4), at each end. The suspension links J, J, by which the heddle frames are suspended from the jacks, consist each of a double piece, or two pieces, g, g, of sheet or thin hoop iron, pivoted by pins, t, t, to the ends of the jacks;

the two parts or pieces, g, g, being separated near the bottom, to form an eye to receive the ends of, 0, 0, and having a fixed pin, r, inserted through or between them, to enter the notch, j), in the heddle rail. The heddle frames are put in place by moving aside one of the links, J, J, as shown in Fig. LL, in dotted lines; then, inserting the opposite end of the rail, o, into the opposite link, and afterward moving the first link so as to bring its pin, r, into the notch, g. The frame is withdrawn by throwing aside a link, and drawing the rail from the opposite link.

The harness motion works in the following manner The levers, F, F, receive a regular vibrating motion, through the crank, e, rod, f, levers, g, j, and rods, z', 7a. The knife, in ascending, catches such of the hooks as are thrown toward it by the studs on the pattern cylinder or chain, and raises the ends of the jacks, C, C, to which, they are attached; their fellows, C1, C1, being raised by the geared sectors, and their harness being thus raised. All the jacks, C, C, whose hooks are not caught by the knife, are allowed to descend, which they 'do by their own weight, and that of their harness; their descent being regulated by the knife or bar, H. rlhe shed is thus opened. During the opening of the shed, the cylinder, E, is moved to change the pattern for the succeeding shed; and all the hooks of those jacks which are now descending, but are to be raised for the next shed, are thrown forward When the knife descends, its springs, d, cl, allow it to pass the forward hooks, whose points, as soon as they are passed, slip over the edge of the knife, as shown in Fig. 5, where the knife is shown in red, as having just passed the point of the hook. The knife descends far enough to free all the hooks; and those which are opposite blanks, in the pattern cylinder or chain, fall back by reason of their own weight; but those which are held up by the studs are caught, when the knife commences rising. The continued operation is but a repetition of that described.

lVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is-

l. Suspending each leaf of harness from two acks, C, C1, which are of similar form and length, and are geared together by toothed sectors, s, s, substantially as described, for the purpose of preserving an uniformity of motion to both ends of the harness.

2. Attaching the knife, G, to the levers, F, F1, and applying springs, CZ, CZ to the saine, in such a way that it will move on the levers in its descent in closing the sheds, sufficiently to pass the points of those hooks of the ascending portion of the harness, which are ina position to be raised to make the succeeding shed, and, after passing the top rails, 0, 0, substantially as set forth, by points of the hooks, will slip under them, which asmple means of attachment and del0 substantially as described. tachment is obtained.

3. Suspendn` the heddle frames I I or s the top rails, 0:30, by means of sheet7 01 hhop JAMES GREENHALGH JR' iron links, J, J, which are pvoted to the VVtnesses: jacks, and are furnished with pins, 1, 1, to ESTUR LAMB,

` enter slots or notches in the ends of the JOSEPH CHASE. 

